


Three Roads Diverge

by hanky16



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst, Seattle Kraken, just manifesting, platonic, this is a story about some pals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanky16/pseuds/hanky16
Summary: A story told in three perspectives. Sometimes the best path isn't obvious.
Relationships: Alexander Kerfoot/OFC, J. T. Compher/Tyson Jost/Alexander Kerfoot, JT Compher/OFC, Tyson Jost/OFC
Kudos: 2





	1. The One Who Stayed and Thrived

**Author's Note:**

> A completely self indulgent story about the lives of the rookie house after the Trade (tm).
> 
> Starting with Jospeh Taylor Compher

So for JT it goes like this:

Joseph Taylor Compher gets drafted 35th overall by the Buffalo Sabres, doesn’t make the team out of camp and so he goes to the University of Michigan and plays there for 3 years. In his third year gets to proudly wear the C for his college team. 

Then he gets traded with a huge Russian dude (who is apparently the same age as him) to Colorado where, instead of playing his last year out in Michigan, he plays in San Antonio. Eventually he gets called up to play his NHL debut for the worst hockey team in history. When the next season rolls around and he lives in a hotel with a nerd, a doofus and another guy he played on the Rampage with. They get their letters to stay on the worst team ever and the nerd suggests that they all live together. JT doesn’t really see why NOT to so he agrees and moves into a 3 story house in Boulder.

Eventually he becomes friends with his housemates. The team goes to Sweden which was dope, but when they return from Sweden and one of his housemates gets sent back to San Antonio, they never really hear from him again. 

The nerd and the doofus wiggle their way into his life and they become his family. They play 174 games on the same team including that one time they all played on the hottest line in their playoff series against the Sharks. 

His agent calls him in the summer asking him about the new deal he needs to sign. There is a sizeable offer on the table for him to go to hell (Toronto). Apparently a big trade is going to happen and hell is looking for a trustworthy forward. His agent has heard a rumor that if JT doesn’t sign there one of his friends is going to end up in hell instead. JT wouldn’t call himself a selfish person but he would be lying if he said that he was desperate to stay in the comfort of the Avs. He takes one look at the photo hanging in his room of the three of them at the Christmas party this past year, takes a breath, and tells his agent to do whatever it takes to stay with the Avalanche, even at the cost of a teammate. The teammate ended up being the nerd, who gets ripped out of their lives and sent to hell. Trades are never real until they happen to you and boy does JT understand that pain now, and he wasn’t even the one traded. When he sees the nerd pack up their life together and get ready to start a new life JT feels bittersweet about it all. On the one hand he feels guilty as hell that the nerd has to move, potentially sacrificing his relationship with his lovely girlfriend, all because JT was too scared to leave. On the other, he knows that Kerf will have someone with him to help ease the pain; the nerd will be alright, after all they were the most mature one.

JT starts his third season as a member of the Avalanche, moves out from their house in Boulder and moves in to an apartment by himself. The doofus tries to beg that they could still find a two bedroom apartment closer to the Can but refuses to get sucked in. The nerd tries to reach out but he never replies.

The nerd come back into town and goes out to lunch with the doofus. JT gets invited but leaves them on read. They go to hell and he gets invited again to see the nerds new crib, he leaves them on read again. The team returns from hell, he gets promoted to the second line center, and doesn’t hear from the nerd again. 

When the doofus gets resigned that offseason he pretends he isn’t happy about it.

The doofus gets drafted by the Seattle Kraken as the sacrifice the Avs make, the nerd gets taken too as the sacrifice from hell. JT tries not to think about it or the total 300 games they played together.

The doofus has too big of a heart and keeps trying to stay in touch with him. JT knew what to expect this time, although the doofus leaving seemed to reopen scar tissue from last time. Knowing that both his former best friends would be together again, making something new together, simultaneously made the situation worse and better. Worse because he missed them like a phantom limb; better because they deserve each other, not a jerk like him.

The first time the Kraken comes to play in Denver his phone does not ring at all. JT supposes its better off for them that the nerd and the doofus didn’t try to reach out; less hurt to go around. Although JT would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt when the duo didn’t even look at him during warmups. But it was what he deserved for ghosting them after all.

The next few years after that goes like this:

JT gets a girlfriend who is nice enough but doesn’t quite fill the void deep inside. He considers breaking up with her but she is too nice and he likes the company and familiarity of coming home to the same person. 

The Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup the year after the doofus leaves. When JT gets the cup passed to him from Matt Calvert he does his lap around the Pepsi Center. As he finishes his lap he goes to pass the cup to the next person and feels his heart sink for just a second. The two people he always imaged passing the Cup to are not here anymore; he passes the cup to Burky and tries not to think about it.

He has a good last year on his contract. Good enough to get a bigger contract for five more years. The team plans on making him a big leader amongst the forwards as upper management can see many of their vets being traded or retired by the time his new contract is up. 

In celebration for knowing he would be around for a good amount of time, him and his girlfriend get a dog and a house. JT figures going for the whole picket fence life was expected of him and can’t really come up with cons of the situation. She wanted to move to Boulder, a better place if they wanted a family. He can’t quite explain why he can’t go back to live in Boulder, settling for some lie about needing to be close to the rink. His girlfriend is still too good for him and loves him because of his faults. Every time he says he loves her too he feels more guilty because he knows she loves him more than he loves her. He just can’t be alone.

Eventually him and his girlfriend have been dating for 4 years and he figures he should probably propose to her, he is in this deep after all. He is more scared of her leaving him lonely than marrying someone he doesn’t love. They get married on a nice summer day in Red Rock in a perfect ceremony that feels so rigid that its fake. JT briefly considers inviting the doofus and the nerd, he doesn’t because he couldn’t explain why they would be invited. After all he was the one who made it clear he didn’t need them in his life anymore.

After a few years she gets tired of living in a loveless marriage. His girlfriend has more courage than he does and divorces him. She deserves better than him so he doesn’t even try to take anything back during the divorce. He figures he wasted so many years of her life, the least he could do was give her stability for her life going forward. She does take their dog though, stating JT is not home enough to give a good life for the dog. JT can’t find a fault in her accusation and lets her take the dog as well. He moves into a small apartment in downtown Denver and tries to feel the loneliness seep into his bones. It turns out he was lonely for a lot longer than he thought. 

After a few months he gets a cat because he just wants company. JT never thought he would be a cat person but he is surprised how much he likes it. His cat lives her own life but also can be cuddly when he needs it. Before bringing her into his small condo, JT goes to the pet store to buy as many ridiculous cat accessories that he could fit in his car. His apartment is no longer filled with empty spaces and blank walls, but with more cat trees than one cat probably needs. He figures that it’s his duty to make his house feel like a home for his new cat. He names his cat Stringy and decided he would live and die for Stringy the moment he set eyes on her.

In his last year of his new contract the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup again. He still misses the nerd and the doofus like a phantom limb when he has the cup. This time he had to go through them in the second round to get here. After the cup celebrations wind down, Gabe announces his retirement. Gabe sits JT down after and says that he needs JT to step up, to take on a lot of his roles on the team. This team could be just as much his as it was Gabe’s.

Which is how he gets here:

JT Compher is now one of the most highly sought after UFA’s. He has a huge contract offer with a solid no move clause stating he will be a member of the Colorado Avalanche for life. JT will get an ‘A’ soon, probably when Cale gets the C. Gabe’s words echo around in his head. He could get all the glory he wanted in Denver after laying his heart and soul on the line for over 500 games.  
All he has to do is sign on the dotted line and he will cement the rest of his career in history. But the contract offer that is peaking out below the Colorado one is stopping him.

The other offer is not a good one at all. If you asked the people around him he is just at the peak of his storied career. This new offer would have him as a veteran forward with deep playoff experiences, not a skilled top 6 forward. Which means the offer would give him way less money than what he would get if he stayed in Denver. JT definitely wouldn’t get an A, and if they tried to give him one he wouldn’t deserve it. 

Stringy paws at the offer he really shouldn’t accept and it even seems like she looks over his shoulder at one of the only pictures he has up in his apartment. JT doesn’t even have to look to see who is in that photo. So maybe the cat has many points, JT thinks as he breaths out a sigh of resignation. The better offer has a lot of things he shouldn’t be turning down.

But this new offer? It’s with the Seattle Kraken.


	2. The One Who Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes being the one who leaves is easier. No one expects that though

For Alexander it goes like this.

Alexander Kerfoot gets drafted from the comfort of his own home in Vancouver, 150th overall to the New Jersey Devils. Representing the Harvard Crimson he plays all four years of college hockey, even getting to co-captain the team his senior year. Alexander walked away with a degree in economics and as a top-ten finalist of the Hobey Baker Award. He made the executive decision to not sign with the Devils and to take his chances with the open market. 

The Colorado Avalanche sign him so he moves to Denver and during training camp he lives in a hotel with a few strangers that play on the same team as him. His uncle has a three story house out in Boulder and had offered Alexander the house if he makes the team. So when they all get their letters that they will make the team, he figures the house is too big for him alone and those strangers are nice enough. Might do him some good to make some friends here.

Those strangers turn into friends that turn into best friends and ultimately Alexander is happy with all the decisions he has made thus far. They go to Sweden which is a dream come true for him, but they come back and one of his friends gets sent down the AHL. That guy never really comes back and the fourth room gets turned into a place where they can all leave their gear and not feel bad about it. 

He runs into a girl from college one night after playing in Boston and they reconnect. She moves out to Denver to further her career and to be with him. He doesn’t feel like he deserves that sacrifice but he is willing to do whatever it takes to earn it. She turns his world and he splits all his free time between her and his housemates. 

The remaining friends turn into family and he takes the Pacific Coast Road Trip he has always wanted to go on with them. 

He gets to play another season representing the Avalanche with his two brothers next to him and with the love of his life’s support. Alexander feels invincible, like nothing could stop him. Him and his friends get put on a line together and they play some of the best hockey of their lives together. It feels unreal playing this good hockey during the playoffs. 

Ultimately he plays 157 games as a member of the Colorado Avalanche as he gets traded to Toronto. He gets ripped away from the team he loved so much that they became family, all because their defence is too good and it made Tyson Barrie expendable. Apparently Toronto likes what they see because they sign him for four more years. However, Alexander resents Tyson Barrie deep in the ugly part of his soul which threatens to escape its hold.

He prepares to breakup with his girlfriend because she doesn’t deserve to be dragged around the country as an accessory but she refuses to let him. She finds a job in Toronto and they pack up their lives into boxes and find a place in the busy concrete jungle. He doesn’t quite fit into the demanding lifestyle that is Toronto at first. He is in so much pain from getting traded that he ends up drunk and raging on Tyson’s doorstep one night where he spills all the ugly out onto the other man. Alexander rants and raves and demolishes until all the ugly is gone and all that is left is devastation. Tyson doesn’t hold it against him, just wraps him up in a hug and joins Alexander in grieving in what was and what could’ve been. 

He starts his first season with his new team and ends up fitting in better than he thought. Due to a slew of injuries he gets to play on the second line as a winger to JOHN TAVARES?!?! and William Nylander. He tries to reach out to the stubborn one and the wide-eyed one. Only one replies.

They go through the losing streak that could’ve only come from hell and he tries to reach out again. Still only one replies. 

Eventually the time comes when he returns to Denver and the thought devastates him. He receives an invitation to go out for lunch at one of the diners they used to frequent and he accepts hoping he would get to see both his friends. Only one shows up.

The games comes and goes and he almost kills EJ which is its own issue. It means the rest of the night is spent trying to apologize while also trying not to die. Some of his old teammates stick up for him, Tyson Barrie really being the one to ensure that his new (old) child makes it to the next spot on their road trip. One of his old teammates doesn’t even show up to make a comment of any kind. At the end of the day Alexander just gets fined and has to do a bunch of horse chores, so he calls it a win.

A week later his old team comes to his new city. He sends out an open invitation for people to check out his new crib. One of the people he sends it to doesn’t come. Alexander is still frustrated by the lack of communication but his girlfriend tells him to give them space. He doesn’t reach out again. 

The next few years goes like this for Alexander:

Alexander gets a dog with his girlfriend so she isn’t lonely while he is on the road. They are now a family and he doesn’t regret anything anymore. Their dog’s name is Coconut and she’s the second best thing to happen to him after meeting his girlfriend. She is still the love of his life and all he can see is the future with her. They love each other because of their flaws and continue to grow together.

He plays good enough hockey to be kept around despite all the money trouble Toronto always seems to be having. However, his hockey isn’t good enough to be protected from the expansion draft. So he gets taken away from the second place he got comfortable in and moves to Seattle. This time he doesn’t have to second guess who is coming with him and moves his whole family to the Pacific North West, closer to his parents back home. It was a surprise to see that the wide-eyed one also gets taken in the draft which makes the whole change even easier. Alexander is very excited by the prospect of getting to mould a team with his own hands with one of his oldest friends by his side.  
Alexander and his girlfriend find a nice house with a picket fence in Seattle. He hates the cliché but the fence lets them have enough yard for Coconut to play around in so he lets it happen. Also the house has a basement suite that just happens to fit one hockey player who had dropped many hints about not wanting to live completely by himself in this new town. So with his new family secure in a house and his best friend really not far away he makes the executive decision to take the next step. A few days before training camps started Alexander proposed to his girlfriend because he has so much love for her he doesn’t know what to do.

Finally training camp had rolled around and it was one of the most intense camps he had ever attended. There was no one star of the team, just a band of misfits fighting for their place on the team. On opening night it was revealed that he would be on the first line as a winger for Dylan Strome and on the opposite wing of his best friend. 

The Kraken play well enough, although the standards were raised for them due to how well the Golden Knights had performed. They win some games and lose some games and then it is finally time to play in Denver once again. He knows exactly how the wide-eyed one is feeling because he has done this before. He doesn’t try to reach out to their former roommate but he does consider it for longer than he would like to admit. During warm-ups he keeps his best friend distracted by game whispering that as long as he didn’t kill EJ they would do better than Alexander had done in his return to the Can. 

He gets married to the love of his life on a rainy day in Boston where everything started. His best friend is one of his groomsmen. Alexander considers inviting his long lost friend but couldn’t justify the hurt he would go through when he doesn’t get a reply. The ceremony is a mess but it’s their mess and he wouldn’t trade it for a perfect ceremony on a sunny day in the mountains. His best friend moves out from his basement stating he didn’t want to get in the way of all that newlywed nonsense.

Eventually Alexander gets an impressive new contract that reflects his leadership within the team. The upper management want him to stick around as long as possible to mould this team in their vision, he wouldn’t want to do it any other way. They also want to give him the captaincy which Alexander feels like he doesn’t deserve. After a long talk calming him down from his panic attack given by Dylan Strome (who really should have the C), Alexander gets named the first Captain of the Seattle Kraken. 

He leads his team through their success and failures but they do not get the privilege of winning the Stanley Cup.

Alexander didn’t think he could love his family more than he does whenever he looks at his wife but when they welcome their daughter into the world his heart soars. She is the best of him and his wife, and if he is honest Alexander thinks she has traits from Coconut too. His best friend is wrapped around his daughters finger and everyday he is glad that his life turned out like this. 

Which is how he gets here:

Being the Captain means that the upper management tends to let him know when they are trying to sign big names or are thinking of bringing up a prospect. It is so that he can be the first one the reach out and make potential teammates want to come here. Alexander doesn’t usually think too much about it and usually shares the duties with Dylan anyways.

The Kraken had made it all the way to the second round of the playoffs when they were eliminated by his first hockey club who were on their way to win their second cup. He is really happy for them, truly. He may have not gotten to stay there but he has a whole lot more to be thankful for. However, the second round exits prompts management to try and sign a new name.

This means that Alexander is expecting a call with a name that he is supposed to woo to come live in the rain. Alexander was expecting a lot but definitely not this specific name from his past.


	3. The One Who Stayed and Fell Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being the one who stays often feels like you have won. But sometimes staying makes you feel more unwanted than if you left

For Tyson it goes like this:

Tyson Jost gets drafted 10th overall in a stuffy arena in Buffalo and he cries a lot. He cries when he sees his family that had sacrificed everything for him watch him achieve his dream. He cries when he hugs his mom. Let’s just say he doesn’t really stop crying.

He doesn’t make the roster out of camp and instead goes and plays for the University of North Dakota. He takes a bunch of filler courses (don’t tell his mom) and a couple of serious courses just to keep his dignity. Tyson plays a lot of hockey and makes some friends. He gets called up to play for the worst team in the history of everything which means he doesn’t get to play another year of college hockey. His mom thinks it’s too soon and agrees with his coaches that another year never hurt anyone. However, Tyson wants to make the show so badly that he forfeits the rest of his college career to go play for that worst team ever. Plus Nathan Mackinnon called him and he can’t just say no to the second best hockey player from Cole Harbour. Plus only time will tell if he made the wrong decision. 

He makes the team out of camp for the next season and is stoked. The friends he was hanging out with at the hotel want to move in together and Tyson is super happy he doesn’t have to go live by himself. They get the chance of a lifetime to travel and compete in Sweden and he is more than happy to send his mom a postcard for another place he has gotten to see because of her sacrifices. His old friend from World Juniors Camp gets traded to his team and he is more than happy to have another familiar face in Denver, even if his new(old) friend still doesn’t quite speak English. When they return from Sweden one of his pals gets sent down to play in the minors. Tyson assures him that they’ll all be playing together in no time but doesn’t expect it to be when he also gets sent down to the AHL. He gets recalled back to the Avs, his friend doesn’t get recalled.

The make the playoffs which was dope, then they get eliminated by the team that drafted Dante. His childhood friend makes it super clear that it was his team, but Tyson just retorts that at least he got to play. 

His friends had been the hockey family he has wanted for longer than he would like to admit. The team like to call him their baby rookie, he pretend to hate the nickname but loves the fact that they think he is important enough for them to care. So he takes his two roomies home with him to celebrate his grandpa’s birthday where he gets to see his favourite people interact. His grandpa gives him a ukulele, Tyson hopes he can make him proud with his playing. They leave his hometown and go to BC to meet his friends where he once again rejoices in his favourite people surrounding him. Ultimately they get to go on the best road trip ever and Tyson doesn’t remember the last time he was this happy. 

His second season as a Pro is another rollercoaster. Tyson is still not quite living up to his potential and while he tries to block out the outside noise the lingering thought that he made a mistake breaking into the NHL that early haunts him. However, if he played one more year at college he probably wouldn’t have the roommates he does now. Tyson would not give up this found family for anything, even for a better career. He stands by this statement even when he gets sent down to the AHL again, at least this time he isn’t that far away.

The season ends on a bittersweet note when he gets to play the hockey of a lifetime next to his two favourite people of all time as they lose in the second round of the playoffs. Tyson believes it is their time to win next year and he can’t wait to do with his pals next to him.

The floor is ripped out from under him when his confidante gets traded away. He tries to convince himself that everything will be fine, that his confidante didn’t want to leave him. Tyson has never been traded so the wounds of having someone so close to him are fresh and uncharted territory. He doesn’t know what would be better; to leave or to be left. The three of them will make it through this, they have to right?

The next season returns and his sidekick doesn’t want to live with him. Apparently they aren’t rookies anymore and with his sidekicks fancy new contract maybe it’s time to grow separately. Tyson argues that, ok Boulder basically as far as hell, but if that is the problem they can live together closer to work. Whatever arguments Tyson tries to pull for them to stay living together doesn’t work. He is starting to believe being the one to leave probably hurts less. His confidante does seem to be having a great time in his new home. 

Tyson starts his third season off on a high by getting his first NHL hattrick. Which should have been an indicator that it was only downhill from there. His favourite sidekick isn’t talking to him and Tyson missing having a partner by his side every single day. The confidante is having a great time without him which makes Tyson feel like he was never really needed. If both his favourite people are succeeding without him what did he ever bring to the table? At the very least Tyson does not get sent down to the AHL this season but he also does not contribute anything to his team. The new rookie played two years in college and is breaking records left and right, the irony doesn’t get past him. No one really pays attention to him anymore, everyone is too busy with their own lives. Which is understandable as Tyson is basically a fourth line plug on the best of days. 

His confidante returns home and Tyson is excited to see them again. He plans a nice lunch in their favourite diner to celebrate their return and even invited his sidekick on the off chance he would care about Tyson’s existence. His sidekick doesn’t care enough to attend but Tyson enjoys the lunch regardless. It was weird to stare at such a familiar face wearing a too light shade of blue with no trace of burgundy to be seen. The game was emotional but Tyson let himself get wrapped up in the comfort of the chaos. 

Going to Toronto almost makes everything worse. Seeing his confidante so often over the course of a week made the absence grow stronger, especially with it being clear he no longer had his sidekick to lean on. Tyson got to see this whole new life his friend had in one of the most revered hockey cities; figures his confidante would thrive in a prestigious environment. His friend is ok, succeeding even. Tyson may not be alright but as long as the people he cares most about are doing well it doesn’t really matter how Tyson feels. 

When his contract expires, Tyson doesn’t really know what to expect. It is not like he made his case to stay on the Avalanche a great one. He waits impatiently, terrified of what is going to happen. Finally he gets his offer, it’s not a lot of money but they are going to resign him with the purpose of exposing him at the expansion draft. Essentially, he agent explains, they are paying him to go to Seattle but he is not allowed to tell anyone that. The team has too many important pieces to expose and they made a deal to take Tyson. He doesn’t really know what to do with this information, but he guesses at least Seattle wanted him enough to agree to the terms. Also Tyson would get to stay on the Avs for one final year. He much rather have a horrible time in a decent environment than to take his chances with another team putting up with him and then not wanting him again. He takes the deal and tries not to think too much about it

He knows no one really wants him in Denver when Tyson returns for his fourth year as a member of the Avalanche. The deal he took was purely selfish stemming from fear more than logical moves for his hockey career. Tyson just plays small minutes on the fourth line and tries to not be a hinderance to the team. He still manages to keep a friendship with his confidante, and with the visits spread out more in the season, Tyson is able to appreciate the visits more. As far as Tyson is concerned this is his farewell tour as a member of the team he was not on for long but had poured his heart and soul into. 

The next few years goes like this:

In the offseason, the news finally hits about the terms of his deal. His, now former, captain takes him out for dinner with the rest of the leadership core. They tell him how much the environment in the locker room would be different without him. Apparently the team still loved him back and was caught off guard that Tyson ever thought he wasn’t valued enough to fight for his spot on the team. Perhaps while Tyson was so caught up in looking for what was not there anymore he forgot to look at who stuck around.

He still gets taken in the expansion draft, just a name in a list of players who were not viewed as important by their teams. However, his confidante gets taken to, meaning he won’t have to start the adventure of playing for a new team by himself. Those first few days in Seattle when it is just him and his confidante doing press, feels eerily similar to those few years in a three story house in Boulder. During this trip, Tyson tries to drop hints that he doesn’t want to live alone. While moving to the West Coast means he is quite a lot closer to his sister, Tyson still is wary of this big change with so many new people. Fortunately his unsubtle clues are noticed and Tyson gets to live, once again, in a basement suit while his confidante and his fiancée live about him. 

Training camp is an interesting dynamic as it is filled with players who have the same feelings of inadequacy and frustration about being let go by a team that didn’t see value in them anymore. His hockey is still magic with his best friend by his side and their chemistry garners enough attention to put him on the first line in the Kraken’s debut. His sister drives down to watch him play and Tyson can get really used to spending more time with family. He gets a cat because his sister says that cats don’t get lonely when he is on the road, and as a result of his living situation his confidante’s fiancée feeds his cat when he is away. 

Games fly by as Tyson finally feels as if he is reaching the potential everyone always thought he was capable of. Time flies by when you are having fun and all that. However this means Tyson doesn’t realize they are going to play in Denver again until he strolls up to the airport. Tyson’s thumb hovers over a written text to his former sidekick asking to hang out before the game. The text never gets sent as Tyson is very aware of the opinion his best friend has on their former roommate. Tyson doesn’t want to pick sides but he knows he needs to side with the person that stayed with him, not the person that left. He goes to grab lunch with his former captain who raves at the growth in his confidence even from such a short time in Seattle. When the game finally happens Tyson tries to not search for the one person he will always look for in a crowd. The game passes with little fanfare and no major injuries to current or former teammates, so really it went as well as it could. 

Tyson considers it growth when he doesn’t notice the Avalanche coming into, and leaving, town. 

He moves out of his confidante’s basement as he doesn’t super want to third wheel newlyweds. But he still has someone to feed his cat so like he can’t complain. The move turns out to be a blessing when he runs into an outstanding women in the liquor store portion of the grocery store by his new apartment. He falls hard and fast for her quick wit. Tyson has always loved openly, with his heart on his sleeve. However, he had never had his love returned to him in a romantic way. Tyson had never had someone see him for who he was, insecurities and all, and love him anyways. He was slowly letting himself believe he could have what his confidante had. 

The years with his love fly by like a flipbook. He learned to accept the love he deserves, learns to know that he is wanted. She is so patient with his insecurities and never punishes him when he panics about his worth. Tyson finds out what it feels like to be loved at his worst moments and at his best. He knows he wants to marry the love of his life from the first time she took his face in between her hands and told him she loved Tyson to the depths of the ocean. However, they take it slow so that Tyson doesn’t get spooked. 

Years after they met, Tyson and the love of his life find themselves back in the liquor isle of the local grocery store where they had originally met. Yet this time, Tyson is down on one knee cementing in the fabric of the universe that he wants to spend the rest of his life proving he is worth her love. 

They get marries up in St. Albert surrounded by family on a warm summers night. Their cat is their ring bearer. He cries buckets in front of everyone while he gives his vows. Against all his internal odds, Tyson Jost found someone who loved him because of his faults, he found a team that loved him and showed it. He was finally happy 

Which is how Tyson gets here:

They lose to the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup Finals. He would be lying if he said that it didn’t sting that his beloved club beat them personally on the way to the club. It was absolute torture to participate in playoff games in the Can with familiar cheers and jeers around him. Having to shake his old sidekicks hand in the handshake line was even worse. Regardless of how much time had passed Colorado would always be his first love.

All he ever wanted was a hockey family to lean on and that was taken away the moment his sidekick decided he was not worth the effort. But when Tyson retreated back to the locker room he took a moment to look around at where he ended up. In front of his eyes, he saw a team whose culture of acceptance and love he cultivated himself. There were rookies who looked up to him as a mentor, who were over often to mooch off food and to hang out in a family environment. Tyson pretended to care that they were always invading his space but he was secretly ecstatic that the kids trusted him that much. He could see his best friend, his confidante, being the best captain by going around making sure every individual knew their contributions to the team were cherished.

Tyson knew that what they had going was good. He loved his new hockey family. But there was always a lingering thought about what it would be like if there was one more ginger head gracing this locker room.


End file.
